Fountain



March 7 1967 H. H. HALL, JR 3,307,787

' FOUNTAIN Filed May 24, 1966 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR Harold H Hall, Jr.

ORNEYS E 76 Z 5 88 1 .3 2 1 M 54- f 7, 1967 H. HALL, JR 3 FOUNTAIN Filed May 24,v 1966 5 Sheets-Sheet z INVENTOR Harald H. HaZLJI? ATTORNEYS 7, 1967 HALL, JR 339K787 FOUNTAIN Filed May 24, 1966 5 Sheets-Sheet a m w 7% /%0 w 1 /2 INVENTOR 5 7 Harold a Hall, Jr.

ORNEY-S 7, 1967 HALL, JR 3,397,787

FOUNTAIN Filed May 24, 1966 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENT OR Harold H. Hall, Jr.

ATTORNEYS March 7, 1967 H. H. HALL, JR 3,3@?,78'l

FOUNTAIN Filed May 24, 1966 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR Harold H. HuII, Jr.

ymflmw m I A ORNEYS I United States Patent Ofiice 3,307,787 Patented Mar. 7, 1967 3,307,787 FOUNTAIN Harold H. Hall, In, 2908 NW. 6th Ave.,

' Fort Lauderdale, Fla. 33308 Filed May 24, 1966, Ser. No. 562,026 17 Claims. (Cl. 239-17) This application is a continuation-in-.part of my copending application Serial No. 403,702, filed October 14, 1964, now abandoned.

The present invention relates to a fluid flow regulating device. More particularly, the present invention relates to ornamental water fountains having a plurality of water jets which are sequentially actuated to produce a predetermined spray pattern.

Fountain devices of this invention may be designed either for indoor or outdoor use, and for either large or small displays. When intended for indoor use, the fountain will include relatively few jets. For outdoor use, the fountain will usually contain more jets and be designed to produce sprays of greater height.

A primary object of the present invention is to provide improved fluid flow regulating devices wherein the fiow regulation is achieved by employing the fluid pressure to vary the position of valve means in a predetermined sequence. 7

Another object of the present invention is to provide improved ornamental fountains which are simple and rugged in construction so that they may be manufactured and operated at low cost.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a floating ornamental fountain unit equipped with a submerged pump and submerged lights for use in swimming pools, ponds, and the like.

A still further object of the invention is to provide ornamental fountains which may be operated by water pressures in the range of those usually supplied for home use.

In its broad aspects, the present invention pertains to a fluid flow control device comprising a body having an axial opening, a plurality of flow passageways leading from the axial opening to water jets, an annular sleeve valve slidably received in close engagement with the walls of the axial opening, lateral ports provided in the sleeve valve and adapted to be placed in sequential communication with respective ones of the passageways in said body, a cap secured to the upper end of the body, said sleeve valve having partition means provided with an inlet orifice leading to the region within the cap, an enlarged end portion of the sleeve valve positioned within the cap and having a surface area larger than the lower surface area of said partition means, a discharge orifice in the cap of greater diameter than that of the inlet orifice, and a control valve operatively associated with the sleeve valve and adapted to block said discharge orifice in one end position thereof. Fluid pressure is effective to elevate the sleeve valve thereby establishing communication with respective ones of the passageways until the control valve closes the discharge orifice in the cap. Pressure then builds up in the cap, and by acting upon the greater surface area of the enlarged end portion of the sleeve is effective to slowly lower the sleeve valve and to establish communication with the passageways in reverse order. To ready the device for another cycle of operation, the control valve is retracted from its position blocking the discharge orifice in the cap.

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the invention will become more apparent from the following part of this description wherein details of construction and the mode of operation of presently preferred embodiments are described with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a central vertical cross-sectional view of a fountain valve in accordance with one embodiment of the invention;

FIGURE 2 is a horizontal cross-sectional view taken on the line 22 of FIGURE 1 which essentially shows the fountain valve with the cap removed;

FIGURE 3 is a horizontal cross-sectional view taken on the line 33 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURES 4 and 5 are partial vertical cross-sectional views showing the sleeve valve in different operating positions;

FIGURE 6 is a partial vertical cross-sectional view of a floating fountain valve unit;

FIGURE 7 is a partial vertical cross-sectional view of a modified valve body having passageways for transmitting fluid regulated in accordance with the present in vention to remote jets;

FIGURE 8 is a central vertical cross-sectional view of a fountain valve in accordance with another embodiment of the invention;

FIGURE 9 is a horizontal cross-sectional view taken on the line 99 of FIGURE 8;

FIGURES 10 and 11 are partial vertical cross-sectional views showing the sleeve valve of the FIGURE 8 embodiment in different operating positions; and

FIGURE 12 is a perspective view of an actuator for the control valve of the FIGURE 8 embodiment.

Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly to FIGURE 1, reference numeral 10' generally designates a fountain valve in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. This fountain valve includes a lower tubular connector portion 12 having internal threads 14 for connection to a source of fluid under pressure (not shown) such as a riser pipe or a pump outlet. A valve body 16 illustrated as integral with connector portion 12 is provided with a central bore which cooperates with connector portion 12 to form an axial chamber 18. As is clearly shown, body 16 is annular and progressively decreases in height in rounded steps, and is provided with annular passageways 20, 22, 24, 26 of progressively decreasing diameter. At their inner ends, these passageways communicate with the axial chamber 18, and at their outer ends the passageways communicate with a plurality of spaced bores or jets 28 in the valve body 16. While four passageways are shown, it will be appreciated that this is merely for purposes of illustration and that a greater or lesser number of passageways may be provided depending on the size of the installation and the spray pattern desired. Preferably, the jets 28 of each row are equally spaced around the circumference of the valve body as shown in FIGURE 2.

A cap 30 is removably secured onto valve body 16 in any suitable manner, for example, by means of spaced fingers 3-2 which are adapted to be placed down between projecting lugs 34 which are spaced around the upper circumference of the valve body as shown in FIGURE 2. Fingers 32 are provided with grooves for receiving the lugs 34 upon rotating the cap slightly with respect to the valve body. A lock screw 36 is provided to lock the cap on the valve body in a known manner. It will be noted that a chamber 38 formed within cap 30 is of greater diameter than that of axial chamber 18.

For purposes to be described hereinafter, centrally disposed in the top wall 40 of cap 30 there is provided a rounded rim 42 forming an entrance to a recess 44. An orifice 46 leads from recess 44 to the exterior of the cap.

As best seen in FIGURE 1, a sleeve valve generally designated by reference numeral 48 is slidably positioned within chambers 18 and 38. The sleeve valve includes a cylindrical body 50 having an outside diameter nearly as large as the diameter of axial chamber 18. The lower end of the sleeve valve is provided with a flared mouth 52 to minimize the obstruction to the flow of the fluid into the sleeve valve. An internal partition 54 within cylindrical body 50 is contoured to provide four arcuate deflector surfaces 56 which are spaced from each other by knife edges 58. Deflectors 56 divide the fluid flow equally so that equal portions pass to each of the lateral discharge ports 60 for passage into one of the annular channels 20, 22, 24 or 26. Since the flow through ports 60 is evenly balanced around the circumference of the sleeve valve, the possibility of binding and wear of the elements is minimized. With sleeve valve 48 in the position shown in FIGURE 1, it is apparent that the flow from ports 60 is into the lowermost annular channel 20.

In the bottom of partition 54 there is provided a disk shaped recess 62. A screen 64 is positioned within recess 62 by a snap ring 66 and functions to filter the fluid flow to a small orifice 68 which extends through the partition 54. Due to orifice 68, a small amount of the entering fluid flows upwardly into a chamber 70 in the upper half of sleeve valve 48, and then into the chamber 38 within cap 30.

The sleeve valve has an outwardly extending annular upper end portion 72 slidably received within cap 30. The upper surface area of end portion 72 is greater than that of the lower surface area of partition 54, for example, about twice as great. End portion 72 includes a bridging member or spider 74 which is provided with a bore for receiving the valve stem 76 of a control valve 78. The control valve, which will be described more fully hereinafter, has an annular resilient seal or bumper 80 made of rubber or a similar resilient material.

The operation of the fountain valve will now be described. Assuming that sleeve valve 48 is in the position as shown in FIGURE 1, fluid under pressure, for example, water from a riser pipe, pump or other source is introduced through chamber 18 and mouth 52 into the lower end of cylindrical body 50. A small portion of the water passes through the small orifice 68 into chamber 70, and eventually into chamber 38 within cap 30. The remainder of the water is initially deflected into the annular channel 20 and is sprayed out of thelowermost row of jets 28. At the same time, the water pressure acting on the bottom surface of partition 54 slowly elevates the sleeve valve so that the area of lateral ports 60 in communication with channel 20 progressively decreases to zero with the results that the spray from the lowermost jets 28 ceases. With continued elevation of the sleeve valve, ports 60 next progressively come into communication with the annular channel 22 so that water is sprayed out of the row of jets 28 assosiated with channel 22. The height of ports 60 and the thickness of the valve body between channels 20 and 22 may be regulatedso that water commences to spray out of the jets 28 associated with channel 22 before the spray from the jets associated with the lower channel 20 has fully stopped, or alternatively, so that water will not commence spraying from one set of the jets until spray from the other set of the jets has stopped. In like manner, communication is sequentially established with channels 24 and 26 to vary the spray pattern.

As sleeve valve 48 is being elevated by the water pressure, the water passing tluough orifice 68 fills the chamber 70 and then passes up around spider 74 into chamber 38. Initially, the water flowing into chamber 38 may exit through the orifice 46 which is larger than orifice 68. This may continue until the sleeve valve has been elevated to a position in which control valve 78 enters into recess 44 which forms a valve seat for the control valve. At this point, further flow of water through orifice 46 is prevented. The water pressure in chamber 38 above end portion 72 then builds up, and since it is acting upon the upper surface of end portion 72 which has a greater surface area than the bottom of partition 54; a net downward force is established upon the sleeve valve so that it is slowly lowered whereby the water jets 28 are actuated in reverse sequence.

FIGURE 4 shows the sleeve valve in its uppermost position with control valve 78 seated within recess 44 so that orifice 46 is blocked. A resilient annular gasket or bumper 82 prevents contact between the under surface of the top wall 40 of the cap and end portion 72. In this manner, damage to the sleeve valve or to the cap is prevented. It is only on a dry start in which water is not present in chamber 38 that bumper 82 usually comes into contact with top wall 40. In normal operation, control valve 78 shuts ofi the escape of water and is effective to stop the upward travel of the sleeve valve slightly below the position illustrated in FIGURE 4.

FIGURE 5 is a view corresponding to that of FIGURE 4 but showing the sleeve valve moving downwardly in the direction of the arrow due to the build up of fluid pressure within chamber 38. A small coil spring 84 is secured to the lower end of valve stem 76 by a spring retainer 86. As illustrated, the spring has been compressed by the downward movement of spider '74. Upon further downward movement of the sleeve valve, control valve 78 will be retracted from its valve seat.- The force stored in spring 84 is effective to rapidly withdraw the control valve from its seat for a short distance. In the absence of the spring, the control valve is withdrawn slowly from its seat, and it may stop in a partially open position and allow water to escape through orifice 46 only as fast as it enters through orifice 68 and thereby disrupt the operation of the sleeve valve.

A bleed vent 88 in cap 30 allows the sleeve valve to breathe and any water which may have seeped past an O-ring 90 in the outer circumference of end portion 72 to exit from the device.

FIGURE 6 illustrates the use of the fountain valve 10 as a part of a floating ornamental fountain structure. This structure includes an annular floatation ring 92 and a support member 94 which is positioned below the water line.

The connector section 12 of the fountain valve 10 is fastened to a submerged pump 96 by a threaded connector 98 which passes through an aperture in support member 94. At its lower end, the pum has a screened water inlet 100. A plurality of submerged lights 102 which may be of different colors are supported within apertures in support member 94 in any suitable manner. An electrical circuit including an underwater conduit 104 and branch conduits 106 supply electricity to the pump and to the lights.

Another embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIGURE 7. This embodiment includes a modified valve generally designated by reference numeral 110 having a lower connector portion 112 which is provided with internal threads 114. A valve body 116 has an axial chamber 118. Annular passageways or headers 120, 122, 124 and 126 are provided in the valve body. Each annular header has an exit conduit 128 which is threaded or otherwise suitably secured within valve body 116. Conduits 128 may convey water to remote jets. The sleeve valve, cap, control valve, etc. employed with this embodiment may be identical to those described with reference to the FIGURE 1 embodiment, and accordingly, are not illustrated in this figure.

The fountain valves of the present invention may be operated by water pressures in the range from about 8 p.s.i. to about 60 p.s.i. or more. In one installation employing an inlet pressure of about 20 p.s.i., axial chamber 18 had a two inch diameter, chamber 38 in the cap had a two and three-fourths inch diameter, inlet orifice 68 had a one-thirty-second inch diameter, and discharge orifice 46 had a three-sixty-fourths inch diameter. With an inlet pressure of 20 p.s.i., the time of a complete cycle is approximately one minute. The pressure in chamber 38 on the up stroke will be slightly under p.s.i., and slightly over 10 p.s.i. on the down stroke. The above figures are merely exemplary and are not to be construed as imposing any limitation upon the size of installations which may be produced in accordance with the teachings of the present invention.

FIGURE 8 illustrates a further embodiment of the present invention which employs a modified control valve. This embodiment includes a valve body 130 having a lower connector portion 132 to which a water inlet conduit 134 is threaded. The valve body also includes threaded connector portions 136, 138 and 140 which receive exit conduits 142. A sleeve valve generally indicated by reference numeral 48' reciprocates within the valve body and is similar to the sleeve valve of the FIG- URE 1 embodiment. Accordingly, primed numerals are employed to designate parts which correspond to parts found in the FIGURE 1 embodiment. An internal partition 54' within the cylindrical body 50 of the sleeve valve is contoured to provide arcuate deflector surfaces 56 which divide the fluid flow and pass equal portions to each of the lateral discharge ports 60'. During operation, the ports 60' are sequentially in communication with annular passageways or headers 144, 146 and 148. With the sleeve valve in the position illustrated in FIGURE 8, water from the water inlet 134 is passed via ports 60' into the annular header 144 and into the lowermost conduit 142 via the passageway 150. The annular headers 146 and 148 discharge into the left and right hand upper conduits 142, respectively. As in the previously discussed embodiments, a small portion of the water flows through a screen 64, a small orifice 68 in the partition 54, and an upper chamber 70 into the cap 30.

A valve stem 152 is threadably secured in an opening in the top of cap 30' and is retained in this position by a nut 154. The valve stem has a bore 156 which constitutes a discharge orifice and is of greater diameter than the orifice 68. The bore 156 communicates with the water in chamber 70' via an inlet 158 in the side of the valve stem. A control valve 160 having an upper cam surface 162 and a lower cam surface 164 is slidably positioned upon the valve'stem. With the sleeve valve in the lowermost position as shown in FIGURE 8, the control valve 160 is supported above the inlet 158 by a control valve actuator consisting of a pairof rollers 168 which are normally biased inwardly toward each other by cooperating pairs of U-shaped spring arms 170 which are best illustrated in FIGURE 12. The valve actuator is held in position by screws 172 which extend into lugs 174 on the inside of the cylinder 50'.

The operation of the fountain valve of this embodiment is similar to that of the previously described FIG- URE 1 embodiment.- Assuming that the sleeve valve is in the position shown in FIGURE 8, water under pressure from water inlet conduit 134 is introduced into the lower end of the valve body 130. A small portion of the water is passed through the orifice 68' into the upper chamber 70' and eventually into the cap 30'. The remainder of the wateris initially deflected through ports 60 into the annular header 144, and subsequently through passageway 150 into the lowermost conduit 142. At the same time, the water pressure acting on the bottom surface of the partition 54 slowly elevates the sleeve valve to sequentially place the ports 60' in communication with the annular headers 146 and 148 so that the water then flows into the conduits 142 associated with these headers. Initially, as the sleeve valve is being elevated by the water pressure, water entering the chamber 70 from the orifice 68 may be discharged through the bore 156 which is larger than the orifice 68. During elevation of the sleeve valve, the control valve 160 is pushed upwardly until its upper end 176 abuts against the recessed surface 178 provided in the top of cap 30. After this point is reached, further upward movement of the sleeve valve results in the rollers 168 being forced outwardly up the lower cam surfaces 164 to the position illustrated in FIG- URE 10. The next incremental upward movement of the sleeve valve and of the rollers 168 causes the spring biased rollers to spring inwardly along the upper cam surfaces 162 as shown by the arrows in FIGURE 10 and thus push the control valve downwardly to the lower end of the valve stem in which position it blocks the inlet 158 to the discharge orifice. With the discharge orifice now closed, the water pressure in the cap above the end portion 72 of the sleeve valve builds up, and since it is acting downwardly upon a greater surface area than the surface of the bottom of the partition 54', a net downward force is established upon the sleeve valve so that it is slowly lowered and the ports 60' are placed in communication with the annular headers in reverse order. The sleeve valve continues to move downwardly until the position illustrated in FIGURE 11 is reached. The next incremental downwardly movement causes the springed biased rollers 158 to snap inwardly along the lower cam surfaces 164 to thereby force the control valve 160 upwardly. The upward movement of the control valve in this manner re-establishes communication between the chamber 70 and the inlet 158 so that water may again exit through the discharge orifice, thus setting the stage for a further cycle of operation.

While the present invention has been described in connection with the presently preferred embodiments, it will be appreciated that departures may be made therefrom within the scope of the invention. For example, the number and arrangement of the jets may be varied at will, and when employing a floating unit, any suitable floatation device may be employed. Accordingly, it is intended to encompass all such changes and modifications as fall within the scope and spirit of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A fluid flow control device comprising a body having an axial opening, a plurality of flow passageways provided in said body and leading from the axial opening, a sleeve valve slidably received in close engagement within the axial opening, at least one port provided in the sleeve valve and adapted to be placed in sequential communication with respective ones of the passageways in said body, said sleeve valve having partition means provided with an inlet orifice leading to an upper chamber provided in said device, an enlarged end portion of the sleeve valve positioned within the chamber and having an upper surface area larger than the lower surface area of said partition means, said device having a distance orifice of greater diameter than that of the inlet orifice, and a control valve operatively associated with the sleeve valve and adapted to block said discharge orifice in an operating position thereof.

2. A fluid flow control device according to claim 1, further comprising a valve stem secured within said upper chamber and 'provided with a bore constituting said discharge orifice, said control valve being slidably positioned upon said valve stem, and spring biased roller means to actuate said control valve to and from the operating position in which said control valve blocks said discharge orifice.

3. An ornamental water fountain comprising a body having an axial opening, a plurality of flow passageways provided in said body and leading from the axial opening, a sleeve valve slidably received in close engagement within the axial opening, at least one port provided in the sleeve valve and adapted to be placed in sequential communication with respective ones of the passageways in said body, a cap secured to the upper end of the body, said sleeve valve having partition means provided with an inlet orifice leading to a region within the cap, an enlarged end portion of the sleeve valve positioned within the cap and having an upper surface area larger than the lower surface area of said partition means, a discharge orifice of greater diameter than that of the inlet orifice provided in the cap, and a control valve operatively associated with 7 the sleeve valve and adapted to block said discharge orifice in an operating position thereof.

4: An ornamental Water fountain according to claim 3, further comprising a valve stem secured to said cap and having a bore provided therein constituting said discharge orifice, said control valve being slidably positioned upon said valve stem, and actuator means secured to said sleeve valve to actuate said control valve to and from the operating position in which said control valve blocks said discharge orifice.

5. An ornamental water fountain according to claim 4, wherein the bore provided in said valve stem includes a lower portion extending through the side of said valve stem, and wherein said control valve is provided with a lower cam surface and an upper cam surface, and said actuator means include roller means spring biased inwardly towards said valve stem and said control valve, said roller means cooperating with said lower cam surface to actuate said control valve from a position in which the bore provided in the side of the valve stem is blocked and said roller means cooperating with said upper cam surface to actuate said control valve into the operating position in which said discharge orifice is blocked.

6. An ornamental water fountain according to claim 3, wherein said control valve includes a valve stem slidable within said sleeve valve and positioned to block said discharge orifice in an operating position thereof.

7. An ornamental water fountain according to claim 3, wherein said body is provided with a plurality of spray jets communicating with each passageway.

8. An ornamental water fountain according to claim 3, wherein said end portion of said sleeve valve includes a centrally disposed spider provided with an axial bore therein, and said control valve includes a valve stem slidable within said bore.

9. An ornamental water fountain according to claim 3, wherein the upper surface of said end portion has an upper surface area about twice that of the lower surface of said partition means.

10. An ornamental water fountain according to claim 3, wherein an O-ring seal is mounted around the periphery of said end portion of said sleeve valve, and said cap is provided with a bleed aperture to vent water passing said O-ring seal.

11. An ornamental water fountain comprising a body having a substantially vertical axial opening and having spaced channels communicating with said axial opemng, means forming spray jets in communication with said channels, a substantially annular sleeve valve slidably received in said axial opening, said sleeve valve having partition means forming an upper section and a lower section, said sleeve valve being provided with a plurality of discharge ports below said partition means which are adapted to discharge into respective ones of said channels upon sliding movement of said sleeve valve, the lower surface of said partition means forming deflector surfaces for deflecting water into said ports, a cap secured to the upper end of said body, said sleeve valve having an enlarged end portion mounted within said cap and having an upper surface of greater surface area than the lower surface area of said partition means, said partition means being provided with an inlet orifice leading from said lower section to said upper section, said cap having a discharge orifice of greater diameter than that of said inlet orifice, a control valve effective to block said discharge orifice in one operating position thereof, said control valve having a valve stem slidably supported within said end portion, and means to retract said control valve from said one operating position.

12. A fountain according to claim 11, wherein said means to retract said control valve includes a coil spring disposed about the lower end of said valve stem and positioned to be compressed by the lowering of said sleeve valve.

13. A fountain according to claim 11, further comprising resilient bumper means disposed between the upper surface of said end portion of said sleeve valve and the lower surface of the top of said cap.

14. A fountain according to claim 11, wherein said cap is provided with a recess constituting a valve seat for said control valve, and said discharge orifice communicates with said recess.

15. An ornamental water fountain comprising a floatation member, a support member secured to said floata tion member, a water flow control device secured to said support member, said control device comprising a body having a substantially vertical axial opening and having spaced channels communicating with said axial opening, means forming spray jets in communication with said channels, a substantially annular sleeve valve slidably received in said axial opening, said sleeve valve having partition means provided with an inlet orifice to an upper chamber provided in said device, said sleeve valve having at least one discharge port below said partition means adapted to discharge into respective ones of said channels upon sliding movement of said sleeve valve, said sleeve valve having an enlarged end portion mounted within said chamber, said end portion having an upper surface of greater surface area than the lower surface area of said partition means, said device having a discharge orifice from said chamber of greater diameter than that of said inlet orifice, a control valve effective to block said discharge orifice in one operating position thereof, means to retract said control valve from said one operating position, and a pump operatively connected to said control device.

16. An ornamental water fountain comprising a hollow floatation member, a support secured to said floatation member and adapted to be below the water level, at least one submerged light secured to said support, a water flow control device secured to said support, said control device comprising a body having a substantially vertical axial opening and having spaced annular channels communicating with said axial opening, said body being provided with a plurality of spray jets opening into each of said annular channels, a substantially annular sleeve valve slid-' ably received in said axial opening, said sleeve valve havmg partition means forming an upper section and a lower sect1on, said sleeve valve being provided with a plurality of discharge ports below said partition means which are adapted to discharge int-o respective ones of said annular channels upon sliding movement of said sleeve valve, the lower surfaces of said partition means forming deflector surfaces for deflecting water into said ports, a cap secured to the upper end of said body, said sleeve valve having an enlarged end portion mounted within said cap and having an upper surface of greater surface area than the lower surface area of said partition means, said partition means being provided with an inlet orifice leading from said lower sectlon to said upper section, said cap having a d1scharge orifice of greater diameter than that of said inlet orifice, a control valve effective to block said discharge orifice in one operating position thereof, said control valve having a valve stem slidably supported with- In said end portion, means to retract said control valve from said one operating position, a pump operatively connected to said control device, and electrical means to operate each light and said pump.

17. A fountain comprising an annular body defining a cylinder at its lower end, a cylinder of larger diameter at its upper end and an intermediate portion having axially ofi'set liquid discharge ports, a reciprocable sleeve valve mounted in said body with its opposite ends slidably engaging said cylinders, a partition internally subdividing said sleeve valve, said partition having a port therethrough, at least one radial port in said valve below said partition and adapted successively to register with said discharge ports during the stroke of said piston, means to supply liquid under pressure to said lower cylinder, said upper cylinder having a discharge port, means to close said port, means establishing a lost motion connection between said closure means and said valve whereby upon completion of the full upward stroke of said valve said closure means will close the discharge port in said upper cylinder which will cause the liquid coming through the port in said partition to move the valve downwardly to disengage said closure means through said lost motion after predetermined displacement of the valve in the downward direction.

No references cited.

EVERETT W. KIRBY, Primaly Examiner. 

1. A FLUID FLOW CONTROL DEVICE COMPRISING A BODY HAVING AN AXIAL OPENING, A PLURALITY OF FLOW PASSAGEWAYS PROVIDED IN SAID BODY AND LEADING FROM THE AXIAL OPENING, A SLEEVE VALVE SLIDABLY RECEIVED IN CLOSE ENGAGEMENT WITHIN THE AXIAL OPENING, AT LEAST ONE PORT PROVIDED IN THE SLEEVE VALVE AND ADAPTED TO BE PLACED IN SEQUENTIAL COMMUNICATION WITH RESPECTIVE ONES OF THE PASSAGEWAYS IN SAID BODY, SAID SLEEVE VALVE HAVING PARTITION MEANS PROVIDED WITH AN INLET ORIFICE LEADING TO AN UPPER CHAMBER PROVIDED IN SAID DEVICE, AN ENLARGED END PORTION OF THE SLEEVE VALVE POSITIONED WITHIN THE CHAMBER AND HAVING AN UPPER SURFACE AREA LARGER THAN THE LOWER SURFACE AREA OF SAID PARTITION MEANS, SAID DEVICE HAVING A DISTANCE ORIFICE OF GREATER DIAMETER THAN THAT OF THE INLET ORIFICE, AND A CONTROL VALVE OPERATIVELY ASSOCIATED WITH THE SLEEVE VALVE AND ADAPTED TO BLOCK SAID DISCHARGE ORIFICE IN AN OPERATING POSITION THEREOF. 